It is sometimes desirable to provide a walk-in, highly secured, lockable vault inside a building or habitat to protect property from damage or theft or to serve as a shelter from natural disaster or intruders.
These walk-in vaults are often required to comply with various building codes and satisfy requirements set by regulatory bodies for security vaults. This has led to the walk-in vault being built in-place in a building by forming walls of substantial building material such as concrete, steel, or brick to form an enclosure which is fire-resistant and burglary-proof for a rated time.
The fact that these walk-in vaults have to be built in-place makes them very expensive for the average person and prolongs construction time of the building. It also makes the addition of a vault to a building that is already constructed difficult. Thus it is desirable to have a fire-resistant, burglary-proof, walk-in security vault that can be built inexpensively and incorporated into a building quickly.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a modular vault comprises a plurality of side, end, and roof panels. The panels are pre-cast from a durable material and connected together to define a walk-in enclosure. A floor slab forms the base of the walk-in enclosure. A door frame is molded in at least one of the side or end panels. A door which controls access to the walk-in enclosure is hingedly attached to the door frame. Joint means for engaging abutting panels are provided on the inner surfaces and peripheral edges of the panels. A plurality of metal plates are attached to the inner surfaces of the panels at a location proximate the peripheral edges. The edges of the metal plates contact when the panels are connected by the joint means. A plurality of metal connectors are welded to the metal plates adjoining at corners of the abutting panels. The metal connectors seal the corners of the abutting panels, thereby making the walk-in enclosure substantially vapor-tight.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a unitary vault includes a housing body made of a durable material. The housing body defines a substantially vapor-tight enclosure. A door frame is fixedly mounted to a side of the housing body. A door providing access to the enclosure is hingedly attached to the door frame. A plurality of hooks are mounted on the housing body. The hooks facilitate hoisting of the housing body.